''Solemya'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of saltwater clams,
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
s in the family
Solemyidae
Solemyidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine protobranch bivalve mollusks in the order Solemyida.
Biology
Solemyids are remarkable in that their digestive tract is either extremely small or non-existent, and their feeding appendages are to ...
, the awning clams. ''Solemya'' is the
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nomina ...
of the family Solemyidae.
Description
The shell
valves
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...
of species in this genus are fragile and subcylindrical in shape; there are no hinge teeth. The shell has a persistent thin periostracum which extends beyond the valve margins, hence the common name "awning clams".
These clams have chemosynthesis, chemosynthetic bacterial symbionts that produce their food. The bacteria live within their gill cells, and produce energy by oxidizing hydrogen sulfide, which they then use to fix carbon dioxide via the Calvin cycle. This symbiosis has been best-studied in the Atlantic species ''Solemya velum, S. velum'' and the Pacific species ''Solemya reidi, S. reidi''.
Species
Species within the genus ''Solemya'' include:
* ''Solemya africana''
* ''Solemya atacama''
* ''Solemya australis''
* ''Solemya borealis''
* ''Solemya elarraichensis''
* ''Solemya flava''
* ''Solemya moretonensis''
* ''Solemya notialis''
* ''Solemya occidentalis''
* ''Solemya panamensis''
* ''Solemya parkinsonii''
* ''Solemya pervernicosa''
* ''Solemya pusilla''
* ''Solemya reidi''
* ''Solemya tagiri''
* ''Solemya terraereginae''
* ''Solemya velesiana''
* ''Solemya velum''
* ''Solemya winkworthi''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3797860
Solemyidae
Bivalve genera
Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Chemosynthetic symbiosis